Backstory: The Creation of Live Yourself Better

 

In 2017, I lost a relative. She was young, with her whole life ahead of her.

  

I felt guilty, why am I here and she isn't? There was no rhyme or reason for it.  

 

In the weeks and months that followed, I promised to make more meaning from my own life. I realised that whilst in my relative's case, it was unavoidable, and not in anyone's control, one thing I could do was to take control of my life and to try and live better in order to try and stay as healthy as I can.

 

I had got into habits that were not healthy and were not serving me well. 

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I decided to do something that I wasn't good at - so I started running. I chose something that I wasn't good at to deliberately try and push myself to get better. At school, I had been a good sprinter but terrible at cross country. So, now was the time to try.

 

I entered various mud runs for charity, including the Kernow Killer (16km run through mud, obstacles, forests and a lake). It gave me a real sense of achievement, as well as feeling that I was giving something back. And, as a bonus, I became fitter.

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However, once lockdowns happened, the good habits I had formed were put on hold. I gained over two stone, and began to experience back problems. I had also given birth to my fifth child and my body had been through a lot. 

 

In addition to this, I had a heart scare, which resulted in being taken to hospital. It was a cardiac arrythmia, and given my family history of heart problems, it was a real wake-up call to change my lifestyle.

 

I made it my mission to find my motivation once again, and to establish this time a way of life that I would be able to stick to, something that even lockdowns wouldn't be able to derail.

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At the same time, due to unforeseen career circumstances, I decided to retrain as a personal trainer. I made this choice based on a desire to learn more about health and fitness, in addition to being motivated by the sheer number of women who have told me over the years about their own battles with weight, food, and basically not having the time to focus on their own health.

 

I also chose not to focus on weight loss. Yes you read that correctly. Weight loss was not my focus, instead I chose health goals, and habit changes. Small changes over time become habits. It's about realistic time frames and sustainable fitness. For example, I began to introduce more fruit and veg, reduced the ultra processed foods, increased fibre and protein, and increased my activity levels. Crucially, I eat all kinds of food, nothing is 'banned', it's about making daily choices that serve me well, and not labelling food as good/bad.

 

As I progressed, continuing to build on habits, I made huge steps forward with my own fitness, I realised that this is my passion, and that I can help others too.

 

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